thedrifter
06-11-06, 08:51 AM
Posted on Sun, Jun. 11, 2006
Honoring a fallen Marine
Capt. Nathanael Doring had extended his second tour in Iraq to be with his wife
BY JENNIFER BJORHUS
Pioneer Press
Capt. Lisa Marie Christenson is a Marine, who was deployed to Iraq earlier this year.
But on Saturday, she sat in the cold in a simple black dress outside the Berea Evangelical Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights. She faced not roadside bombs or gunfire but something perhaps worse — a row of stiff, white-gloved Marines who cracked the air with their rifles for a three-volley salute for her husband, Capt. Nathanael James Doring.
Doring, a Marine helicopter pilot, died May 27 when his AH-1 Cobra crashed into Lake Habbaniyah in Iraq during a test flight accident. He had extended his second tour of duty in Iraq to be with Christenson.
"I have never met a man that was more proud of his wife," Lt. Colonel Dunn told more than 200 friends and family gathered to honor Doring at the memorial service Saturday afternoon. "Everyone was living vicariously through his happiness."
The 31-year-old, who spent most of his childhood and teen years in Apple Valley, was remembered Saturday as a loving husband, father and warrior who died doing precisely what he loved — flying. Adam Disney, a 28-year-old Mankato, Minn., man, described how Doring looked every bit the part of a Marine. Doring was a cousin of Disney's wife.
"He was a very strong, quiet guy," Disney said. "You look at him and the first thing you think is 'Marine.' "
Although Doring and Christenson lived in California, Doring's parents, James and Elizabeth Doring, and his sister, Cara Skoglund, live in the Twin Cities. Doring was confirmed at Berea Lutheran Church and graduated from Apple Valley Senior High School in 1993. He later graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering with honors, his family said, but joined the Marines because of his passion for flying.
Dunn recalled Doring steering his aircraft very low to the ground in Iraq during one battle, taking fire at close range in order to protect other soldiers. When Doring later discovered a bullet had ripped into his helicopter just 2 feet from him, he didn't flinch, Dunn said. He simply said: "I've got to find another aircraft because this one's not flyable."
"I can't tell you the number of Marines that are alive today because of his service," Dunn said.
The honor guard Saturday presented the folded American flag to Doring's son Alex.
A group of Patriot Guard Riders —- leather-clad motorcycle riders, many of whom are themselves veterans — with large American flags lined the church driveway as taps played.
Doring's body will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Since the war began, 32 military members from Minnesota have died serving in Iraq. There have been 54 killed from Wisconsin, including Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, Wis., who was killed by a roadside bomb June 5.
Jennifer Bjorhus can be reached at jbjorhus@pioneer press.com or 651-228-2146.
Ellie
Honoring a fallen Marine
Capt. Nathanael Doring had extended his second tour in Iraq to be with his wife
BY JENNIFER BJORHUS
Pioneer Press
Capt. Lisa Marie Christenson is a Marine, who was deployed to Iraq earlier this year.
But on Saturday, she sat in the cold in a simple black dress outside the Berea Evangelical Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights. She faced not roadside bombs or gunfire but something perhaps worse — a row of stiff, white-gloved Marines who cracked the air with their rifles for a three-volley salute for her husband, Capt. Nathanael James Doring.
Doring, a Marine helicopter pilot, died May 27 when his AH-1 Cobra crashed into Lake Habbaniyah in Iraq during a test flight accident. He had extended his second tour of duty in Iraq to be with Christenson.
"I have never met a man that was more proud of his wife," Lt. Colonel Dunn told more than 200 friends and family gathered to honor Doring at the memorial service Saturday afternoon. "Everyone was living vicariously through his happiness."
The 31-year-old, who spent most of his childhood and teen years in Apple Valley, was remembered Saturday as a loving husband, father and warrior who died doing precisely what he loved — flying. Adam Disney, a 28-year-old Mankato, Minn., man, described how Doring looked every bit the part of a Marine. Doring was a cousin of Disney's wife.
"He was a very strong, quiet guy," Disney said. "You look at him and the first thing you think is 'Marine.' "
Although Doring and Christenson lived in California, Doring's parents, James and Elizabeth Doring, and his sister, Cara Skoglund, live in the Twin Cities. Doring was confirmed at Berea Lutheran Church and graduated from Apple Valley Senior High School in 1993. He later graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering with honors, his family said, but joined the Marines because of his passion for flying.
Dunn recalled Doring steering his aircraft very low to the ground in Iraq during one battle, taking fire at close range in order to protect other soldiers. When Doring later discovered a bullet had ripped into his helicopter just 2 feet from him, he didn't flinch, Dunn said. He simply said: "I've got to find another aircraft because this one's not flyable."
"I can't tell you the number of Marines that are alive today because of his service," Dunn said.
The honor guard Saturday presented the folded American flag to Doring's son Alex.
A group of Patriot Guard Riders —- leather-clad motorcycle riders, many of whom are themselves veterans — with large American flags lined the church driveway as taps played.
Doring's body will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Since the war began, 32 military members from Minnesota have died serving in Iraq. There have been 54 killed from Wisconsin, including Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, Wis., who was killed by a roadside bomb June 5.
Jennifer Bjorhus can be reached at jbjorhus@pioneer press.com or 651-228-2146.
Ellie